Senate President, Dr. Bukola Saraki has reiterated that he will never step down as speaker and he cannot be impeached either by Lawmakers from the All Progressives Congress, APC because they have minority members in the upper chamber and cannot carry out an impeachment proceeding according to Nigerian law.
Dr. Saraki made this known while answering questions from journalist after his presidential campaign in Minna, Niger state on Sunday. According to the Senate President;
“The APC members know that we are in the majority and whatever they want to do they know that they don’t have the number.
The other kite they are trying to fly is asking me to step down from my seat, but I can tell you that this cannot be possible as I will not step down.
One thing is very clear and that is to say that I will not sacrifice the interest of the country for my personal interest and in the last three years as a Senate president, I have demonstrated that my interest is second to that of national interest.”
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Dr. Saraki also condemned calls from various quarters on the Senate to suspend its recess and resume adding that it was a collective decision by all members of the senate to adjourn and that their recess is under the ambit of law and has not contravened any section of the procedures and that they will reconvene when it is time for them to resume from the break.
Saraki reiterated;
“We did not adjourn the Senate in the dark; there was a procedure where at the end of the session there was a vote and it was seconded that we should go on the annual recess.
So it wasn’t anything done in the secret, everybody was there. It is not that some few people met somewhere and took the decision. “Everybody participated and everybody took the decision that we should adjourn for a normal annual recess.
We took a similar decision last year and even two years ago and we agreed to resume on a certain date and it was the agreed date that we resumed, so there is nothing abnormal about the senate adjournment this year and what we are after is a country rooted in the rule of law and a democratic process.”
He continued further;
“What is important to me is to ensure the independence of the three arms of the government, to allow rule of law, to ensure that we respect the democratic process.”
Commenting on his Presidential ambition, Dr. Saraki said his presidential aspiration is intended to unite all Nigerians irrespective of their ethnic, religion and political lenient. According to him;
“The country needs a President that can unite everybody, the country needs a leader where all Nigerians will have sense of belonging, the country needs a youthful president, the country needs a President that understands how the executive and legislature work together and not in an environment where there is no harmony.”
He also dispelled rumours that he no longer had control of his home constituency in Kwara state, he said;
“The people of the state know their leader and we are not the type that patronize the electorate few months to elections and disappear after such elections and resurface years after.
We are with our people election or no election and we will continue to be with them and the people will also continue to embrace us all the time so, the 2019 general elections will surely determine who the leader is so let us wait till then,” he concluded.